July 27, 2010
Maryland is Race to the Top finalist
(From The Baltimore Sun, July 27, 2010)
By LIZ BOWIE
Maryland is one of 19 finalists in a national competition for federal education funding that prompted leaders to revamp the state's school agenda in hopes of getting as much as $250 million in the next year.
"I can barely contain myself," said Nancy S. Grasmick, the state superintendent of schools. "We are so excited because there was tremendous work that went into this and it has such potential for our schools."
To make the state more competitive for Race to the Top, Maryland has changed laws governing teacher tenure and evaluations, adopted new curriculum standards and promised to overhaul its system of improving the lowest-achieving schools.
However, Maryland was considered something of an unknown by some education observers because it was one of only a handful of states that did not submit an application last winter during the first round, in which Delaware and Tennessee were chosen the winners.
In the second round, 36 states participated and Maryland was one of the few chosen that had not been a finalist before. The winners will be announced in September.
Baltimore City stands to gain the most from the federal Race to the Top competition, which will distribute $3.4 billion to states that are chosen. The city is projected to get $46.8 million; Prince George's, $20.9 million; Baltimore County, $15.4 million; Anne Arundel, $6.1 million; and Harford, $2.6 million.
When asked why Maryland had been picked, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said that the state had made significant changes recently and that "by some metrics, you can make the case that Maryland is the highest-performing state in the country."
In addition to Maryland, the finalists are: Arizona, California, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and South Carolina.
Early next month, a state delegation that will include Grasmick, Gov. Martin O'Malley, Prince George's County Superintendent William R. Hite and two State Department of Education staffers will go to Washington to be grilled by a panel of reviewers about their plans for reforms. The interview process could make a difference in the outcome because the states are scored on various topics and judges will add or subtract points after the process.
